PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Maxim Shalbovich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luiz Ara (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shalbovich comes to the cage accompanied by Funeral of Queen Mary. Maxim Shalbovich has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Shalbovich
vs
Ara

192 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
KO power

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Maxim Shalbovich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Luiz Ara!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Valeri Chadov and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ara is trying hard to land a takedown here. Shalbovich sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Nice sprawl there from Shalbovich as Ara shoots in.
Ara shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Shalbovich counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Maxim Shalbovich has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luiz Ara.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Ara slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Ara bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Shalbovich's guard.
Ara not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Shalbovich keeping full guard, as Ara tries to pass.
Ara is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Luiz Ara has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Shalbovich looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ara is fending him off so far but Shalbovich persists. Nope, Ara circles away and we're back to standing.
Horrible takedown by Ara or perhaps it was just good defense by Shalbovich which made him look bad.
Shalbovich misses with a takedown attempt - Ara sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Shalbovich is breathing heavily.
Shalbovich tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ara paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ara throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Shalbovich's waist but Shalbovich gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ara off to one side.
Ara stuffs the takedown attempt from Shalbovich. Shalbovich gets slowly back to his feet.

Shalbovich shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ara moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ara pulls Shalbovich in close to his closed guard and prevents Shalbovich from doing any damage or advancing position.
Ara looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ara is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ara takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Ara's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Ara moves nicely into side control.
Shalbovich on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Shalbovich tries to get out of the position.
Ara in side control, just content to control the action for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ara works to advance to full mount. Shalbovich defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Ara controlling his opponent.
Shalbovich throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ara looking to control and managing it successfully.
It looks like Ara might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Luiz Ara wasn't active enough on the ground.
Shalbovich shoots in for a double leg but Ara sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Ara scores a takedown into full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luiz Ara dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Ara shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ara dives in and grabs Shalbovich's left leg, looking for a takedown. Shalbovich pushes down on Ara's head and hops out.
Ara looks for a takedown but Shalbovich sprawls well.
Maxim Shalbovich has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luiz Ara.

Shalbovich closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ara moves into full guard.
Ara has Shalbovich pulled in close to control his posture.
Ara is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ara wants to sweep but no luck.
Ara trying to control the position.
Shalbovich stopping the sweep attempt from Ara.
Shalbovich is fighting to break Ara's control of his arms but Ara is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Luiz Ara has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Shalbovich tries to clinch up.
Ara shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ara shoots for a takedown but Shalbovich saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Ara tries to keep at a distance but Shalbovich has taken the fight into the clinch.

Shalbovich tightens his grip and picks Ara up, before dumping him to the ground. Ara manages to land in guard.
Shalbovich tries to free his leg and advance position but Ara is retaining full guard.
Ara is pulling down on Shalbovich's head. It's preventing any offense from Shalbovich, at least for the moment.
Ara wants to sweep but no luck.
Ara lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Shalbovich!
Ara controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ara looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Luiz Ara has got the better of the ground game so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ara tries to control but Shalbovich wriggling away.
Ara controlling the pace for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Luiz Ara has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Ara changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Shalbovich tries to avoid it but Ara manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Shalbovich to the ground. Shalbovich escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ara fails with the takedown.
Shalbovich displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Ara.
Ara shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Shalbovich counters with a single leg into guard. Ara didn't expect that.
Ara lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Shalbovich!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ara controlling the position easily from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luiz Ara showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Ara tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Shalbovich swivels and escapes.
Ara fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Ara misses with a takedown attempt

and Shalbovich counters by moving into the clinch.
Maxim Shalbovich has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luiz Ara.
Ara has Shalbovich pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Shalbovich manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Ara is trying to drag Shalbovich to the mat but Shalbovich just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Ara is looking for a takedown.
Ara takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ara is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Ara goes for a takedown in the clinch but Shalbovich prevents it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Shalbovich wants the takedown. Ara is fighting it off but Shalbovich persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Ara's guard against the cage.
Ara wants to sweep but no luck.
Ara is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Ara keeping moving, preventing Shalbovich from controlling successfully.
Shalbovich pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ara is keeping the position for now.
Ara is controlling Shalbovich's posture.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Ara drives through with a takedown into Shalbovich's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ara wants to control from the top but Shalbovich keeps moving.
Shalbovich can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ara controls the pace.
Ara pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Shalbovich is keeping the position for now.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Luiz Ara wasn't active enough on the ground.
Shalbovich misses with a takedown attempt - Ara sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Maxim Shalbovich is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ara shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Shalbovich as he avoids it easily.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Shalbovich enables Ara to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Shalbovich manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ara's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Ara passes into half guard.
Luiz Ara is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Ara is controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ara seems to be looking for submissions.
Ara is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Ara has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ara content just to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luiz Ara comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Ara winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luiz Ara!
Luiz Ara bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.